TAY SACH'S DISEASE DESCRIPTION


This is a fatal degenerative disease of the nervous system that is found primarily throughout Ashkenazi Jews. This disease is named after Warren Tay, a British ophthamologist, who described the red spot on the retina of the eye. Bernard Sachs a neurologist from New York, described cellular changes and noticed the population of the disease in the European Jewish people in 1887.

Warren-Tay.jpg
Warren Tay
sachs.jpg
Bernard Sachs



INHERITED:

Tay Sach's disease is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. An autosomal recessive pattern means that both copies of a gene include mutations.




carrier_chart.gif
carrier_chart.gif


SYMPTOMS:

  • Seizures
  • Behavior changes, such as the infant stops smiling, or crawling
  • Loses the ability to grasp or reach out
  • Increased startle reaction
  • Decreased eye contact
  • Slow body growth
  • Increase head size
  • Slows down mental and social skills
  • Feeding difficulties
  • Abnormal body tone
  • Loss of motor skills
  • Blindness
  • Deafness
  • Loss of intellectual skills

How is Tay Sach's Disease treated?

There is no cure or treatment for this disease. The child may take depression pills and go to counseling to feel as comfortable as possible. The worse it gets the more attention and care you have to give for the child. Cause of this is that the children usually die before they reach the age of 5.

Population of Tay Sach's Disease

1 in every 27 Ashkenazi Jews in the United States is a carrier of tay sach's disease. About 1 in every 250 people are carrying this disease. Symptoms start appearing after 3 to 5 months of birth. Usually children who live with this disease do not die until age of 5 years.

What chromosome is this disease found on?

This is located on chromosome 15, it is also known as the hexosaminidase A (alpha polypeptide) gene.



QUESTIONS NEEDED ANSWERED
  1. What chromosome is this disease located on?
  2. Around what age do you live to with tay sachs disease?
  3. What have you learned about tay sach's disease?
  4. What type people is this disease most commonly found in?


Support groups for tay-sachs disease:

National Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases Association, Inc. (NTSAD)
2001 Beacon Street, Suite 204
Brighton, MA 02135
(800) 906-8723
www.ntsad.org

Genetic external image 2_bing.gif, Inc.
4301 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 966-5557
www.geneticalliance.org
National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. (NORD)
55 Kenosia Ave.
P.O. Box 1968
Danbury, CT 06813-1968
(203) 744-0100
(800) 999-6673 (voicemail only)

http://health.allrefer.com/health/support-group-tay-sachs-info.html



Works Cited:

The Health Central Network. "Tay-Sachs Disease Symptoms, Treatment and
Prevention." Healthscout. N.p., 1 Apr. 2009. Web. 17 Apr. 2010.
http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/238/main.html.
MamasHealth. "Tay-Sachs Disease:Symptoms, Treatment, Cause, Prevention, Risks,
Complications, Statistics, Long Term Outlook." Mamas Health. N.p., 2010.
Web. 17 Apr. 2010. <http://www.mamashealth.com/tay.asp>.

National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association of Delaware Valley. "TaySach's
Disease." NTSAD. N.p., 2009. Web. 17 Apr. 2010.
<http://www.tay-sachs.org/taysachs_disease.php>.